Conversations I’ve had with my kids about changes in technology

I have three kids under 9 years old, and I’ve had a lot of conversations with them about the progression of technology. Every time I do, though, they make me feel like I came to America aboard the Mayflower. Here are a few examples.

Me: I didn’t have a cell phone growing up. I don’t see why you need one.

Kid: How did you text people?

Me: I didn’t. Well… I did send post cards (I explain postcards).

Kid: STUPID!

Kid: Did you have YouTube when you were a kid?

Me: Nope.

Kid: what did you watch?

Me: TV.

Kid: How did you get better at Minecraft?

Me: we didn’t have Minecraft.

Kid: (mind blown)

Kid: I’ll bet you rode horses all the time when you were a kid.

Me: Are you saying that I’m old enough for horses to have been my primary form of transportation. Like as in, I am older than cars?

Kid: Yup.

Kid: What does hang up the phone mean?

Me: Old phones used to have a receiver with a cradle and a cord and when you were done with the call, you’d hang them up…

Kid: (asks a million questions.)

Kid: (gets more confused.)

Me: (looks up video on YouTube of someone using a phone.)

Me: I didn’t use Facebook until I was in my 20s.

Kid: Because you didn’t like it?

Me: Because it wasn’t invented yet.

Kid: You are really, really, really, old.

Me: When I was a kid we couldn’t look things up on smart phones.

Kid: Why?

Me: Because we didn’t have smart phones. In fact, we didn’t even have cell phones. All phones were attached to the wall.

Clint Edwards was blessed with a charming and spitfire wife, a video game obsessed little boy, a snarky little girl in a Cinderella play dress, and an angry baby girl. When Clint was 9-years-old his father left. With no example of fatherhood, he had to learn how to be a father and husband through trial and error. His work has been featured in Good Morning America, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, The Good Men Project, Fast Company, and elsewhere. He lives in Oregon. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.